Noise suppressor for firearms

ABSTRACT

A firearm includes a noise suppressor comprising ports in the barrel opening into an annulus provided between a barrel and a sleeve extending from adjacent the muzzle to adjacent the receiver. In the annulus are a series of baffles. The most upstream port opens upstream of the most upstream baffle and downstream ports open between adjacent baffles. In some embodiments, the upstream ports are considerably larger than the downstream ports. Propulsion gases escape from the barrel into the annulus before the projectile clears the muzzle. Sabot rounds or shotgun rounds can be safely fired in the weapon because the sabot carrier or shot cup don&#39;t begin to expand until it is past the muzzle end so it cannot damage the noise suppressor.

This application is partly based on Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/396,065 filed May 12, 2010, priority of which is claimed.

This invention relates to an assembly and noise suppressor for rifles, cannons, multibarrel weapons systems, automatic weapons, pistols, shotguns and similar firearms.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention is a modification or improvement over the device disclosed in PCT Application PCT/US2009/001062, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Conventional silencers or noise suppressors are devices attached to the barrel of rifles, shotguns, pistols and similar firearms for reducing the noise attendant upon firing of ammunition. Silencers are typically attached by machining threads on the muzzle end of the barrel and then threading the silencer onto the barrel.

There is always a problem aligning noise suppressors with the bore of the weapon so the projectile passes through the suppressor without grazing or otherwise impacting those components of the suppressor nearest the axis of travel of the projectile.

Sabot ammunition are rounds where the projectile doesn't contact the barrel bore but is instead mounted on a carrier which separates from the projectile when the projectile clears the muzzle. The carrier tends to separate from the sabot inside conventional prior art noise suppressors which either destroys the suppressor or leaves debris in the suppressor to be contacted by the next round fired. Noise suppressors are known which are capable of being attached to a weapon through which sabot rounds are fired, e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,928,573; 5,992,291 and 6,065,384.

Other disclosures of interest are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,858,481; 4,576,083; 6,575,107 and 6,216,578 and PCT publication WO 2010/040886.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A noise suppressor assembly is disclosed where ports are provided in the barrel adjacent the muzzle end, a sleeve or similar mechanism provides a receptacle into which propulsion gases flow and a series of baffles are disposed around the end of the ported barrel inside the sleeve. When a round is fired and the projectile enters the ported area of the barrel, expanding gases are delivered through the ports into the annulus between the barrel and sleeve. This allows expansion of the propulsion gases into a receptacle outside the barrel, reducing the energy of the gases, cooling the gases and reducing muzzle noise. Cooled propulsion gases bleed off through the baffle assembly between rounds. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the ported area of the barrel may comprise a muzzle brake so firing the weapon without the sleeve will act much like a similar weapon with only a muzzle brake.

The muzzle end of the barrel is machined to provide a series of axially spaced ports upstream of the muzzle end in areas where rifling is provided in the bore. The ports may be positioned so they do not interfere with the rifling and may be along the lands. In preferred embodiments, the barrel end is machined to provide the ports. The size and spacing of the ports may be of many different configurations and/or sizes but are located adjacent the barrel end and are large in comparison to the bore of the barrel. In some embodiments, the furthest upstream port or ports are larger than downstream ports to divert a sizeable fraction of propulsion gases through the furthest upstream port.

The receptacle disclosed may comprise an imperforate sleeve analogous to the heat shield or stabilizer tube disclosed in PCT application PCT/US2009/001062 and conveniently comprises a tube attached to the receiver, to the barrel adjacent its junction with the receiver or in any other suitable manner.

The baffle assembly may comprise a series of baffles welded or otherwise secured to the muzzle end of the barrel between the ports or may be on a separate member inserted onto the barrel end. In some embodiments, the first or most upstream port or group of ports may be considerably larger than the downstream ports to allow a sizeable fraction of the propulsion gases to exit the barrel before reaching the more downstream baffles. The baffles may be slightly smaller than the internal dimension of the sleeve to allow gases exiting through downstream ports to escape into the sleeve interior or may fit more-or-less snugly against the sleeve interior so the cavity between each baffle traps and expands a small proportion of the propulsion gases.

This approach has many advantages. First, when firing sabot ammunition, there is no tendency of the sabot carrier to separate inside the noise suppressor. Second, the annulus between the barrel exterior and the sleeve interior provides an expansion chamber for cooling propellant gases thereby enhancing the silencing ability of the device. Third, because the sleeve is readily removable from the receiver, the firearm and noise suppressor are easy to clean without sophisticated cleaning equipment. Thus, in some embodiments, a novel noise suppressor is made having only one part that is removable from the weapon, i.e. the sleeve. The noise suppressor can be easily cleaned by removing the sleeve thereby exposing all of the components of the suppressor. In shotguns, which are normally unrifled, the suppressor allows a shot carrier to clear the ports and the barrel before it starts to expand so that the shot carrier does not damage or interfere with the suppressor.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved noise suppressor for a firearm.

A further object of this invention is to provide a noise suppressor which may be used with a firearm using sabot rounds and preventing the sabot carrier from interfering with operation of the suppressor.

Another object of this invention is to provide a firearm having a noise suppressor which includes a ported barrel section near the muzzle providing ports which are large in comparison to the bore area.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become more apparent as this description proceeds, reference being made to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a pictorial view of a conventional rifle which is used in conjunction with a ported barrel and sleeve to provide a noise suppressed weapon;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of a ported barrel that is attached to the rifle of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a broken side view of a sleeve that is attached to the rifle of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a enlarged cross-sectional view of the muzzle end of the barrel onto which a baffle assembly has been added, taken substantially along line 4-4 in FIG. 2, as viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows;

FIG. 5 is an isometric view of one embodiment of a baffle assembly used in conjunction with the barrel of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a broken isometric view of another embodiment of a baffle assembly incorporated onto the end of a barrel;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the barrel of a weapon illustrating another embodiment of a noise suppressor; and

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view, similar to FIG. 7, illustrating another embodiment of a noise suppressor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1-2, a rifle 10 may be a bolt action type having a stock 12, a bolt 14, a receiver 16, a barrel 18 which threads into the receiver 16 and a bipod support 20. Those skilled in the art will recognize the rifle 10 as being a conventional rifle illustrated as a generic sniper rifle.

As shown best in FIGS. 2 and 4, the barrel 18 is machined to provide a series of ports 22 that open into the bore 24. Provided there are no burrs where the ports 22 intersect the bore 24, the ports 22 do not scratch or mar the projectile passing through the barrel 18. Thus, if a sabot round were to be fired through the barrel 18, it stays intact as it passes the ports 22, i.e. until the round clears the muzzle or muzzle end 26 of the barrel 18.

Rifling along the barrel, i.e. alternating lands 28 and grooves 30, spin the projectile and thereby impart considerable stability to it. Grooves 30 may be formed using any suitable technique, e.g. cut rifling, button rifling, hammer forged rifling or the like. Rifling may be done before or after formation of the ports 22.

The ported section or area 32 around the ports 22 may be of the same outer diameter as the barrel 18 or may be of reduced diameter as suggested by the shoulder 34. As will be explained more fully hereinafter, the ported section 32 is an area near the muzzle end 26 of the barrel and extends from adjacent the muzzle 26 along the barrel a distance not more than about one half the length of the barrel 18. It may be preferred to have the ported section 32 much shorter, i.e. not more than about one quarter the length of the barrel or less. In some rifle calibers, the ported section 32 may be as small as one tenth the length of the barrel.

The ports 22 may be of any desired number or configuration and may be formed in any suitable manner. Thus, the ports 22 may be square shouldered, round shouldered, round or the like but may preferably be elongate in the direction of the barrel. The ports 22 may be parallel to the barrel 18, may be parallel to the rifling 30 or may be at any desired angle to the barrel or rifling. The ports 22 may be in a single file or any multiple of files commensurate with the diameter of the barrel. Water jet cutting may be desirable to avoid creation of any burrs around the ports 22. The ports 22 may preferably include a first or most upstream set of ports 22 a that are larger than the remaining ports to allow a major fraction of the propulsion gases to escape from the barrel 18 as soon as the projectile enters the ported area 30 of the barrel 18. The volume in the annulus between the barrel exterior and the sleeve 44 open to the upstream ports 22 a, i.e. upstream of the most upstream baffle 42 is quite large compared to the volume between adjacent baffles 42, the area of the upstream ports 22 a may be large compared to the area of the downstream ports 22. The ports 22 a may accordingly be preferably at least two times as large as the ports 22 and, in some embodiments, about four times as large as the ports 22. This promotes noise suppression as will become more fully apparent hereinafter. It will be evident that the sleeve 44 does not interfere with the forward stock 20, meaning there is sufficient clearance between the barrel and the forward end of the stock 20 to accommodate and support the sleeve 44. In the alternative, the stock 20 may be altered or of a different design.

The cumulative area of the ports 22, 22 a is large compared to the cross-sectional area of the bore 24 thereby allowing a substantial part of propulsion gases generated during firing of a round to pass through the ports 22, 22 a into the annulus between the barrel 18 and the sleeve 44. The cumulative area of the ports 22, 22 a is at least four times the area of the bore 24 and can, in some embodiments, be much larger, i.e. on the order of 20-25 times.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the rifle 10, as heretofore described, can be fired in a normal manner. Propulsion gases acting on the baffles 42 reduces recoil of the rifle 10. If the ports 22, 22 a on the top of the barrel 18 are larger than the ports 22, 22 a on the bottom of the barrel, they will also act to minimize climbing of the muzzle during firing.

As shown best in FIG. 5, a baffle assembly 36 may be provided having a tube 38 sized to fit over the ported area 32 and providing a series of slots or passages 40 allowing the passage of propulsion gases out of the barrel 18. A series of baffles 42 spaced along the assembly 36 act in a manner analogous to noise suppression baffles as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. In some embodiments, the slots 40 in the tube 38 are aligned with the ports 22 in the barrel 18 as suggested in FIG. 4. The upstream slots 40 a are considerably larger than the downstream ports 40 to allow a substantial fraction of propulsion gases to pass through the passages 40 a to reduce firing noise.

The baffle assembly 36 may be fixed to the barrel 18 in any suitable manner, as by welding or laser welding, or may be captivated by a sleeve 44 threaded into the receiver 16 or, as illustrated in FIG. 2, onto threads 46 provided at the inlet end of the barrel 18. The sleeve 44 may be of any desired configuration and made of any suitable materials. The sleeve 44 may be made of carbon fiber and resin, or any other material, providing a heat shield capacity. A muzzle end 48 of the sleeve 42 may include an annular end wall 50 having a passage 52 larger than the rifle bore 24.

The baffle assembly 36 is assembled onto the ported area 32 of the barrel 18 and may be fixed to the barrel 18 or captivated by the end cap 50 of the sleeve 44 when the sleeve 44 is threaded onto the barrel 18. It may be desirable to prevent the baffle assembly 36 from rotating relative to the barrel 18 so a suitable anti-rotating mechanism may be used, such as an interfitting rib and groove (not shown). When a round is fired from the rifle 10 and the projectile clears the most upstream ports 22 a, a sizeable fraction of the propulsion gases pass through the ports 40 a into an annulus defined by the outside of the barrel 18 and the inside of the sleeve 44. As the projectile clears successive ports 22, additional propulsion gases flow through the ports 40 into the barrel/sleeve annulus or into the spaces between the baffles 42, depending on the spacing of the baffles with the inside of the sleeve 44. This cools the propulsion gases and suppresses noise generated by firing the rifle 10. The outside diameter of the baffles 42 may be somewhat less than the internal diameter of the sleeve 44 to allow propulsion gases to escape from the barrel and flow into the annulus between the barrel 18 and sleeve 44 thereby attenuating energy of the propulsion gases and suppressing the noise of firing. In some embodiments, the baffles 42 more-or-less snugly slide inside the sleeve 44 so the smaller quantities of propulsion gases exiting through the downstream ports 22 expand into the gaps between the baffles 42.

It will be seen there is provided a noise suppressor comprising the ports 22 in the barrel 18, the baffle assembly 36 and the sleeve 44. The sleeve 44 is readily removable from the barrel 18 and the baffle assembly 36 may be removable thereby allowing easy cleaning of the noise suppressor.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the ports 22 have an effect on muzzle velocity because some of the propulsion gases are sidetracked away from the projectile before it clears the muzzle 26. This effect can be overcome if desired by firing hotter ammunition, i.e. ammunition with a greater quantity of powder or powder of greater energy.

It is apparent that increased port area in a given bore diameter increases noise suppression but, like all variable parameters, there is a tendency to diminished returns as the variable increase. Thus, there is a trade off between noise suppression and muzzle velocity. When the ratio of cumulative port area to bore area becomes too large, muzzle velocity can be diminished too much or diminished more than can desirably be made up by a change in propellant charge. Extremely large ports can also affect the strength of the muzzle end of the rifle 10 thereby providing another limit of port size.

Referring to FIG. 6, there is illustrated another embodiment of a baffle assembly 54. In FIG. 6, a barrel 56 includes a bore 58 having rifling therein comprising alternating lands 60 and grooves 62. A series of ports 64 are machined in a ported section 66 adjacent the muzzle end of the barrel 56. An upstream port 64 a is preferably larger than the remaining ports to allow a sizeable fraction of the propulsion gases to escape into an annulus between the barrel 56 and the sleeve 44. A series of baffles 68 may be secured directly on the barrel 56 between adjacent ports 64, in any suitable manner such as by welding, laser welding or the like. In the alternative, the baffles 68 may be machined from the same metal blank as the barrel 56. The outside diameter of the baffles 68 may be somewhat less than the internal diameter of the sleeve 44 to allow propulsion gases to escape from the barrel 56 and flow into the annulus between the barrel 56 and sleeve 44 thereby attenuating energy of the propulsion gases and suppressing the noise of firing. The baffles 68 may fit more-or-less snugly against the sleeve interior so the cavity between each baffle traps and expands a small proportion of the propulsion gases. As in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-5, the ported section 66 is in the same proportions as the ported section 32 and the ports 64, 64 a are as large as the ports 22, 22 a in proportion to the bore 78.

Referring to FIG. 7, another rifle 70 is illustrated including a barrel 72 having rifling or grooves 74 therein in a conventional manner. A series of ports 76 open into the bore 78 of the barrel near the muzzle end 80 of the barrel, analogous to the ports 22, 64. As in the embodiments of FIGS. 2 and 6, the upstream ports 76 a are considerably larger than the ports 76. Instead of simply turning down the exterior of the barrel 18, the muzzle end is machined to remove metal between, and thereby provide, a series of baffles 82. The baffles 82 accordingly act in the same manner as the baffles 42, 68 to provide gaps into which part of the propulsion gases can expand as the projectile is travelling through the barrel 72. Surrounding the barrel 72 is a heat shield or sleeve 84 which may be connected to the receiver (not shown) of the rifle 70 or to the barrel 72 at a location adjacent the receiver. An end cap 86 may be provided to abut the muzzle end 80 of the barrel 72 in a manner analogous to the a fixed end wall 48. As in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-5, the ported section 88 is in the same proportions as the ported section 32 and the ports 76, 76 a can be as large as the ports 22, 22 a, 64, 64 a.

Referring to FIG. 8, there is illustrated another rifle 90 including a barrel 92 having a rifled bore 94. A series of ports 96 open into the bore 94 near the muzzle end 98 of the barrel 92, in a manner analogous to the ports 22, 64, 76. The most upstream port 96 a may, as in previous embodiments, be larger than the downstream ports 96. The muzzle end 98 may be machined to remove metal between, and thereby provide, a series of baffles 100. The baffles 100 accordingly act in the same manner as the baffles 44, 68, 82 to provide gaps into which part of the propulsion gases can expand as the sabot carrier or shot cup are travelling through the barrel 92. Surrounding the barrel 92 is a heat shield or sleeve 102 which may be connected to the receiver (not shown) of the rifle 90 or to the barrel 92 at a location adjacent the receiver. An end cap 104 may thread onto the muzzle end 98 of the barrel 92 in a manner analogous to the fixed end wall 50 and thereby captivate the heat shield 102 in place. As in the embodiments of FIGS. 1-7, the ported section 106 is in the same proportions as the ported sections 32, 66, 88 and the ports 96, 96 a are as large as the ports 22, 22 a, 64, 64 a, 76, 76 a in proportion to the bore 94.

As shown by a comparison of FIGS. 7 and 8, the baffles 82, 98 may be of any suitable shape, including relative straight as in FIG. 7 and concave toward the breech end of the weapon 90 as in FIG. 8.

There are a number of variables involved in designing noise suppressors of the type disclosed herein. The length of the ported section 34 is between 10-50% of barrel length and the cumulative area of the ports 22, 22 a is 4-25 times the bore area. A preferred length of the ported section 34 can be about one quarter of barrel length and a preferred cumulative area of the ports 22, 22 a can be about fifteen times bore area. There is a trade off between noise suppression provided by a large cumulative port area and a lessening of projectile muzzle velocity. At cumulative port areas that are too low, noise suppression is too low. At cumulative port areas that are too high, there is too much reduction of muzzle velocity.

In one example, a standard .30 caliber military rifle has a barrel length of about 26 inches, meaning the ported section 34 is 2.6-13 inches long and can preferably be about 6½ inches long. The area of a 0.30 inch bore is 0.070686 square inches, meaning that the cumulative area of the ports 22, 22 a is 0.2827-1.767 square inches and may preferably be about 1.0603 square inches. The ports 22, 22 a may typically be elongate, i.e. longer in the direction of the barrel than transverse of the barrel. The area of each port 22 may vary widely, dependent partly on the bore diameter, but may be on the order of about 0.02-0.05 square inches, meaning that a size of 0.01″×0.02″ to 0.15″×0.33″ would be normal. In order to achieve the desired cumulative area, the ports 22 preferably extend at least half way between adjacent baffles 42. The shorter ported sections 34 will likely be associated with smaller cumulative port areas because the cumulative axial lengths of the ports cannot be quite so long.

When firing regular ammunition from the disclosed firearms, when the projectile passes the first set of ports, a substantial quantity of hot propulsion gases are sidetracked through the upstream ports into the annulus between the barrel exterior and the surrounding sleeve. This produces rapid cooling of a substantial quantity of the propulsion gases. When the projectile passes each successive downstream port, a smaller quantity of propulsion gases passes between the baffles and thereby expand and cool. This process continues until the projectile clears the muzzle end of the barrel whereupon gases accumulating between the barrel exterior and the sleeve leak out through the muzzle. Because the area of the ports is very large compared to the area of the bore, there is considerable room for the escape of propulsion gases into the annulus between the barrel exterior and the sleeve before the projectile clears the end of the barrel. This produces a large reduction in noise. There is a substantial reduction in muzzle flash because a high proportion of gases are sidetracked through the ports where they expand and cool before exiting the muzzle.

In addition to superior noise suppression, the disclosed firearms are capable of firing regular and sabot ammunition without damage to the noise suppressor. It will be apparent that the carrier of a sabot round or a shot cup of a shotgun round will stay intact and be confined by the bore of the weapon until the sabot clears the muzzle end of the weapon. Because the carrier cannot expand until it passes the noise suppression ports in the barrel, the carrier cannot damage the noise suppressor and thereby endanger the user upon firing a subsequent round.

It will be apparent that threading the sleeve 44 onto the barrel threads 46 until the end wall 50 or the end caps 86, 104 snug up to the end of the barrel 18 will cause the sleeve 44 to be placed somewhat in tension and the barrel 18 to be somewhat in compression. The extent of this is very minor and, in comparison with the strength of the barrel 18 and sleeve 44, is minuscule. Even after firing a few rounds and the consequent heating up and lengthening of the barrel 18 and sleeve 44, the extent of stressing of the barrel 18 is, for all practical purposes, non-existant.

Although this invention has been disclosed and described in its preferred forms with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred forms is only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of operation and in the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. 

1. A firearm comprising a receiver; a barrel extending from the receiver and having a muzzle end and a bore providing a predetermined cross-sectional area from adjacent the receiver to the muzzle end, and a ported section extending between 10-50% of barrel length from the muzzle end toward the receiver, the ported section having a series of ports opening between the bore and an exterior of the barrel providing a cumulative area at least four times the area of the bore; at least one baffle on the exterior of the muzzle, the baffle being between adjacent ports; and an imperforate rigid sleeve surrounding the barrel and extending from adjacent the muzzle end to adjacent the receiver.
 2. The firearm of claim 1 wherein the barrel provides rifling extending substantially to the muzzle end.
 3. The firearm of claim 2 wherein there are multiple rows of ports parallel to the rifling.
 4. The firearm of claim 1 wherein the ports comprise at least one upstream port and a series of downstream ports and the upstream port is substantially larger than the downstream ports.
 5. The firearm of claim 4 wherein the area of the upstream port is at least twice the area of a downstream port.
 6. The firearm of claim 4 wherein the area of the upstream port is about four times the area of a downstream port.
 7. The firearm of claim 1 wherein the ported section is of an outer diameter smaller than a diameter of the exterior of the barrel.
 8. The firearm of claim 1 wherein the baffles are of one piece with the barrel.
 9. The firearm of claim 8 wherein the baffles are of the same piece of material as the barrel.
 10. The firearm of claim 1 wherein the ported section extends about one quarter barrel length from the muzzle end toward the receiver and the cumulative area of the ports is at least fifteen times the area of the bore.
 11. The firearm of claim 1 wherein there are a multiplicity of ports and a baffle between each pair of adjacent ports.
 12. The firearm of claim 1 wherein there are a multiplicity of baffles and the ports between the baffles extend at least half way between adjacent baffles.
 13. The firearm of claim 1 wherein there are multiple rows of ports and multiple baffles, each row of ports comprising an elongate upstream port opening into a first section of an annulus between the sleeve and the barrel, the annulus extending from a most upstream baffle to the receiver, and the downstream ports opening between adjacent baffles, at least some of the upstream ports being at least twice the area of the downstream ports.
 14. The firearm of claim 13 wherein the downstream ports are elongate extending at least half way between adjacent baffles. 